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Category: Short Narrative
Running time: 3 minutes
Original Format: HD (Color)
Date of completion: April 2004
In association with Infinite Quest Productions
Director DAVID ROWE
Writers DAVID ROWE & TRAN QUOC BAO
Producers TRAN QUOC BAO & PAMMIE GOH
Director of Photography/Editor NICK RISINGER
Music by DJ DEF CUT
Synopsis
A young student endures a hard day at high school. He arrives home and takes his first breath of freedom.
Cast
Breakdancer TOMMY W. LEE
English teacher SEAN GORMLEY
Lab partner NATASHA SIMS
Math teacher WES JOHNS
Screenings and Awards
NW Film Center & Adidas Short Film Competition - Honorable Mention
2004 Bumbershoot 1 Reel Film Festival
2004 Northwest Asian American Film Festival
2004 Northwest Film Forum Local Sightings
2005 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
2005 Vietnamese International Film Festival
2005 Atlanta Hip Hop Film Festival
2005 Visual Communications Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival
2005 Slant: Bold Asian American Images
2005 Seattle True Independent Film Festival
2005 San Diego Asian Film Festival
2005 Washington DC APA Film Festival
2005 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Reviews
"Ever have one of those schooldays where you just couldn't wait to get the hell out of class? I love how this kid busts loose."
-- Phil Yu, editor of AngryAsianMan.com
Director Comments
Finally I was given a topic to make a movie about. Bao and I pretty much agreed that the movie should be about a b-boy since Adidas has been such a part of the breakdancing culture. From there it was just about coming up with the story.
I had a lot of fun times during this whole process. Auditioning breakers was a great time as well as shooting the final breaking scene. We made Tommy pretty tired by the end of the night, if it wasn't for his effort we would've been forced to have Bao stand in and do the Robot for 30 seconds straight. I'm glad we went with Tommy’s breaking. Getting to know the cast and crew was great and I hope we all get to work together again in the near future.
This was a very professional shoot with a great High Definition camera (thanks Nick!), wonderful actors and an awesome crew. Everybody worked great as a team and we got this all shot in three days. Having producers like Bao and Pammie made things much easier as the director. I could focus on how to tell the story and didn't have to worry about locking locations and getting a crew, it was all taken care of. Overall this was a great time, I'm glad I got to do it and am proud of the movie we made.
Producer Comments
Once in a blue moon, the Muse puts out and entrusts the filmmaker with a breathtaking vision that demands the greatest of focus, steely dedication, and a willingness for hard work. Then the producer steps in and takes all the credit. I realized that I have been on the wrong side of the tracks all this time. All you have to do is assemble a talented director, DP, and co-producer, and then watch them scurry as you hit on the extras.
If you look through the photo gallery you will find some additional scenes set at the house. I had written a scene where the breakdancer arrives home and gets into a fight against Johnny Wooten armed with a stick. Breakdancer then runs into the home's elevator and fights off Khanh Doan. It was the best writing of my life, but David jealously cut it out.
I want to make a note of appreciation to Brian McDonald for his invaluable script feedback and generosity in viewing our work edit (Snip, snip, snip!). Huge thanks also to DJ Def Cut for his song Battle Zone 2000, which gave the breakdancing a much more authentic feel than our homemade woodblocks and kazoos could ever have achieved. I don't know about you but I sure want to party.
DP/Editor Comments
On Perfections, Bao and David originally wanted to shoot everything on Hi8. They said it would give the film an "amateurish-hardcore-adidas-fan-look" -- I told them they could find a new DP. Then, after realizing it was all a farce, we had a big laugh and played hopscotch.
But seriously folks, I’d like to thank them for believing in my audacious plans of shooting on HD with sync sound. We definitely had to jump some hurdles because of it (and Bao had to fire me a few times), but in the end I think we all agree it was well worth it. Plus, it’s always fun to scare the bejesus out of the cast and extras with the "$5,000 fingerprint" speech.
I’d also like to thank Brian McDonald whose words of wisdom in post gave our film more strength and made me look like a better editor. Props, Brian.
I look forward to working with POV and IQ in the future. ‘Twas a groovy experience!